The Daily Fuckup

Donald Trump spent the third anniversary of the Capitol attack doing what he has repeatedly done since: describing jailed Jan. 6 defendants as “hostages” and keeping the focus on his own grievances. He made the remarks on Jan. 6, 2024, during campaign events in Iowa, including a stop in Newton, where he again portrayed people prosecuted in connection with the riot as victims rather than defendants facing charges and, in many cases, convictions.

At the same events, Trump returned to his familiar claim that the 2020 election was stolen from him. That claim has been rejected by courts, state election officials and the record of audits, recounts and certifications that followed the election. His Iowa comments offered no sign of a change in tone on an anniversary that remains politically and legally charged for him.

The language Trump used was not new, but the setting made it harder to ignore. Jan. 6 is the day a mob broke into the Capitol, delayed the certification of the election and left officers injured. Trump’s decision to use the anniversary to press the same line about “hostages” keeps him aligned with the people who have turned the riot into a political cause. Critics say that framing diminishes the assault on the Capitol and the officers who defended it.

The anniversary also underscored how central Jan. 6 remains to Trump’s political identity. Instead of separating himself from the attack, he continues to defend the people who took part in it and to cast the aftermath as persecution. That position may reinforce loyalty among his most committed supporters, but it also keeps the episode in front of voters as he seeks another term.

The Justice Department has described the attack as an unprecedented assault on American democracy and has continued to pursue accountability for those criminally responsible. Against that backdrop, Trump’s remarks on Jan. 6 were less a departure than a reminder that he still sees the day through the lens of his own political fight.